Can a Pill Turn Sweat Into Perfume?

Lucy McRae calls her invention Swallowable Parfum and says she’s mainly trying to change the way people think, not the way they smell.

McRae said, “My main aim is to provoke and make people think in a completely different way about how make-up can be [used] in the future.” The 31-year-old hopes that rather than a uniform aroma, her perfume pill will amplify the user’s own scent, like a “base note.”

However, scientists are unsure of the effectiveness of such supplements due to the body’s digestive process. George Preti, a scientist who specializes in taste and smell, said, “How much of what they do that will make it through the digestive process and [into] the blood remains to be seen. A lot of things will get taken apart in the acid in the stomach.”

McRae’s pill is still in the research phase and has no scheduled release date.